K: Time flies when one is eating, sleeping and growing very fast.
I am now a whole three weeks old. Most of my first week was taken up with figuring out this breastfeeding business. It is pretty complicated and I wasn't that impressed with it for a few days. This got Mummy quite worried, and the breastfeeding counsellors too. They gave Mummy and Daddy a cunning tube which you sellotape to your finger, and I sucked on that a couple of times. After that I had enough sustenance to have a bit of a better go at feeding. I still don't really like to open my mouth very wide but I am getting steadily more efficient at the whole business nonetheless. By ten days I had regained my birthweight which is apparantly A Good Thing. Here you can see me being weighed by the midwife in a most undignified manner:
I have a Big Sister. Mummy talks about her all the time and she gives me lots of cuddles. Some of them are rather vigorous but they are kindly meant. She also waves a lot of things at me and dangles things in front of me.
We've been out to quite a lot of places (Frances will tell you more) and we've also had a lot of people come to see us. I remain broadly speaking indifferent to where we are or who has come round, in truth, as long as I get fed when I make chomping motions. I did get taken to see Mummy's work, which was so exciting that I got myself completely overtired and stayed awake for eight hours straight, which Mummy reckons two-week old babies shouldn't really be able to do. Ah well. I slept quite well that night, at least.
Other than that the only other thing to report is that I have got a cold. This means that my nose is all stuffy which I think is outrageous, and also I have rather gooey eyes (Mummy is taking me to the doctor later). Mummy is hoping folornly that this means I will get immune to things quicker, and not just that I will get one cold after another all winter courtesy of my Big Sister and her nursery friends.
F: I am getting used to having Baby Katy around. It seems to mean several things. First, there are a lot of presents. Some of them are for Baby Katy but quite a lot of them are for me - and Baby Katy doesn't seem to mind me playing with her things, either. Second, there are a lot of visitors. It was particularly good last weekend. Clare and Owen and Ellen and Catrin came to see us, and also Jenni and Christophe and Marianne. We went to the park and it was excellent. I like playing with Ellen, of course, but have also discovered that Catrin is now big enough to be a lot of fun. Catrin and I were a bit naughty together at lunchtime and laughed like drains about it. I had a nice time with Marianne too - she is very, very good at jigsaws. I want to go and see her in her new house and have now said this about two thousand times. We have also had Olivia and Jenny round (they both have babies in their tummies, you know)
We've also had Granny Mary round quite a bit, especially to help at bedtime, which has been lovely. I like Granny Mary a lot, and not just because she always brings me a new book. Last week Granny Mary brought Graunty Lizzy with her and it was very nice to see her too. We took them to the farm and had lunch there, which was nice.
At the weekend, Uncle James came to see us.
It was a tricky day as Baby Katy was full of cold and complaint, but we had a nice time anyway. We went to Prospect Park and Uncle James hung upside down, and after much indecision I came down the Very Big Slide with Mummy - twice! It was very, very fast.
The third big change is that there are a few different combinations and choices for when we go out. I am still going to all my groups and things. Sometimes Mummy takes me and Baby Katy - for instance, she took us to Tredegar just after Baby Katy was born, and she has taken me to Colourstirngs with Baby Katy, and to Mile End Soft Play. When this happens quite often Baby Katy sleeps in her special blue Baby-Katy-Bag, which is pretty good as it means Mummy can concentrate on me. I like the Baby Katy Bag too...
However sometimes (and quite often at home, too), Mummy has to feed Baby Katy which takes a long time and means that Mummy can't help me with essential activities like putting my shoes on and immediately taking them off again, or finding the one toy car I really must have. I am getting pretty good about this, though, as I have discovered that one thing Mummy can do quite well while feeding is read books. I am also very good at trying to comfort Baby Katy myself, and often sing her songs when she is crying.
Sometimes Mummy and Daddy and Baby Katy and I all go out together. We have done some good expeditions this way. We went to the Aquarium last week, on the boat. This worked pretty well, and I had an excellent time. I stroked the starfish. I was too scared to do this last time we went (in about February) and have been talking about it ever since. I touched the crab on his body but I didn't want to touch his legs. There were sharks but they can't eat me because of the glass. I also saw a Cuban crocodile and he did swimming and climbing. We've also been to the Arches (although bouncing at the Arches has been full the last few times, so we ended up in Greenwich Park, which is very excellent).
We also went to Matilda's party. This was excellent. There was cake and jelly and a trampoline and blowy-outy things that make a noise. I can even make them work myself now, too.
Other than that, the main difference Baby Katy makes is in the evening, especially when Daddy isn't there. Quite often she feeds all through my supper and bath, except for a brief break to have a bath herself. She goes in my bath and she really likes it.
I help wash her tummy and her feet with the Baby Katy sponge. Sometimes she is cross in the evenings and cries and I don't like that much.
I get a bit torn because I want Mummy to stop her crying but not necessarily to pay attention to her instead of to me... After bath we quite often have some quiet time in Baby Katy's room while Mummy feeds her even more. Mummy got me some fuzzy felt to play with during quiet time but I don't really like doing it on my own. Beads work better but in fact what really works is Mummy reading me a book and giving me a 'leg cuddle' (which is when I snuggle between her legs on the footrest). Then sometimes we try to put Baby Katy down to sleep but if she's really not happy she comes into my room and Mummy feeds her even more while she reads my stories. Baby Katy always gets put down while Mummy cuddles me and we talk about today and tomorrow, though. I have a suspicion that after Mummy has left my room she goes and spends more time with Baby Katy, feeding her to sleep. As a result I am testing out calling out to Mummy for a bear or for tigger or more water or a loo trip...
In other news, am getting very interested in letters. I have a lot of alphabet books and want to be read them all the time. I know a lot of letter-names, and what noises they make (C says cuh, and suh). I can't always recognise the written letters but if you say the name I can say the sound (even the hard ones, like W says wuh). Mummy and Daddy have, in consequence, started teaching my I-spy, which I like a lot even though I don't really like to guess the words - I like Mummy or Daddy to give me a whopping great clue so that I can guarantee to get it right.
What else is new? I make my own porridge every morning and can explain how to do it. I love making cakes especially with squeezy icing. I have started saying that lots of things are 'my favourite' and 'my best'. If you offer me something I want I nod vigorously and say 'Oh, yes please!' in a way that Mummy and Daddy find entrancing. My sentences are ever longer and more complicated (and sometimes somewhat surreal - 'Mummy, I am shutting you in the kitchen so you don't get cold'). I am increasingly using my personal pronouns correctly (though in times of stress I revert to saying 'you'). I can undress myself (especially in bed when Mummy and Daddy don't want me to, but also, if encouraged, in advance of my bath) but am not very interested in learning to put clothes on, apart from my shoes. I have got New Tights which I love. Oh, and I am going to be a witch at Halloween and Daddy has promised me a pointy hat, and yesterday he bought me a broomstick! I was thrilled. We are also going to have pumpkin pies, just like in The Bear Detectives.
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